


Tales of the Shōjō

by psychomachia



Category: Ubume no Natsu | Summer of the Ubume - Kyōgoku Natsuhiko
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-19
Updated: 2011-11-19
Packaged: 2017-10-26 06:46:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/279966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psychomachia/pseuds/psychomachia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, what ties two people together is not a red string of fate, but a long receipt from a liquor store.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tales of the Shōjō

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sententiae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sententiae/gifts).



_There are many ways to tell a story, and while some of them may be true, a great many more are utter lies._

He can feel the blood dripping from his side as he staggers off the battlefield. So many lives lost... for what? He can barely remember. Oh, right.

Next time, he won't tell that man where to find his wife.

In the distance, he can see his loyal companion running towards him. Enokizu staggers to his knees, clutching his shoulder.

"Kibashu," he whispers as the man approaches and bends down

"It's all right. Everything's taken care of." He pulls back Enokizu's shirt and winces at the sight.

"There's not much time left.” He grasps Kiba's fingers between his and places them on his chest. "I'm dying."

"Hold on. Look, you're not going to die. It's not even that deep. Look--"

"No, no, I can feel myself going. It's getting darker."

"Yes, because it's night."

"Promise me something."

"All right, but you're not going to die."

"Promise me you'll look after Seki. He's hopeless. Even now, he's probably falling in love with a ghost or a fox or one of those demon witches with the long nails and you know with a face like his he can't be choosy--"

"All right, all right. But you're going to be fine."

"No, no. I know the truth. It's all over for me now." Enokizu lets out a delicate sigh, closes his eyes, and collapses gracefully to the ground. It's very moving and lovely and it's just a shame that there are no artists around to illustrate it for a series of very touching poems. Probably about cherry blossoms in the wind.

Kiba's voice holds a bit more worry as he says, "No, listen, Eno." He grasps both of his shoulders.

Enokizu's eyes flutter open at this and he beckons Kiba down. In a whisper, he says, "You know, there's something I've always wanted you to do."

"You don't have to say anything. Look, the doctor's on his way with--"

"No, you need to know. We've been friends for so long, and there are so many things we've done together. I only wish there had been time--

"Oh, Eno. I already know.” With that, Kiba bends down and kisses him firmly on the lips. Enokizu returns it weakly, and they break away, catching their breath. Eno beckons him down again.

“That was nice and I didn't think you'd ever do it in public, but that's not what I'm talking about.”

Kiba turns red. “Look, in your shape, I don't think--”

“No, it's not that either. It's something important. I need you to swear to me that you'll do it.”

Kiba's vows are not taken lightly, but neither are his friends. In a firm voice, he says, “I swear.”

"It's just... it might be beyond you.”

“No, I'll do it.”

“But if it's painful and costly and may take years to accomplish--”

“I swore, damn it!” Kiba firmly holds Enokizu’s hands in his. Their eyes meet, in a moment of perfect trust and understanding. And when Enokizu speaks, it is with great love that he says:

"I need you to pay my bar tab.”

 

 _Not all stories can be great romances. But if you're smart, they can be the ones that save you in the end. When star-crossed lovers are drowning in their inevitable doom, wiser lovers have already learned how to swim._

1\. When Kiba returned from the war, he knew he had changed, and he was wise enough to know not to fight it.

He was fortunate enough to be a practical man, a man who knew the right path to travel and was smart enough to know that to live with honor required more than just words. It required enough common sense to know how to get out of the situations that honor gets you into.

And when it was just Seki and him returning home, he did not waste his time berating himself for only being able to save the two of them. He was just grateful he was able to accomplish that much.

If Kiba had nightmares about the war, he could not remember them when he woke.

And if you asked him why he became joined the police, he might have told you it was just a continuation of all that he had done before: using his common sense to sort out situations that were often desperate, hopeless, and in the end, inexplicable and inconclusive.

2\. Enokizu also returned from the war, but if it changed him, it would not have been anything remarkable.

When a strange child is born to a strange father, wild vagaries in mood and abrupt changes of mind are nothing extraordinary. Nobility makes it eccentricity, and money can make it acceptable.

Moreover, Enokizu was unfortunate in that he possessed a gift that was just enough that he could see what haunted people's thoughts, but not so that he could use it for any reliable purposes. In sum, he was defined by his lack of definition.

He knew how to play guitar. He could draw. He saw where people had lost things and forgotten actions and what they were hiding even from themselves. Occasionally, he got paid for one of the three.

And if one knew to ask him why he never talked about the shadows that followed Kiba around, about the bloody wisps of memory that trailed his movements every time he saw him, he would have a simple answer. He was just glad he didn't have to look at them in his own mirror.

3\. Neither Kiba nor Enokizu needed saving. That was not why they were friends. But to explain why two people of such different backgrounds, career paths, and even methods of thought could be so intrinsically bound would be to try to put into words what didn't need to be said.

They were together. That was the truth.

 

 _First love always wins out. Unless your first love is an idiot, in which case, you might want to go for your third or fourth one. Maybe eighth to be on the safe side._

It begins with a boy walking where he should not go. There are warnings that he must stay away from the old garden. He has been told that he shouldn't open the gate to it. He does.

He has been admonished not to step foot in the leaves, to not make his way past the ancient trees that dot the landscape, to stay at home where he will be safe and not venture out into the unknown.

Of course, he does. How else do you learn anything of value?

And if there is a decrepit well ahead of him, with deep dark waters that promise hidden secrets, would you not expect him to investigate it? Boys who grow up to be supernatural detectives have to get their start somewhere.

And a well can lead to so many narrative possibilities – is there treasure buried at the bottom of it? Does it have a secret passage leading to an abandoned house? Is there a long -haired ghost girl that will reach up, swearing eternal vengeance?

The answer to all of this is no. It's just a well.

Except for the whole part where it crumbles beneath him, sending him down into the darkness. The boy cannot stop from plunging into it, cold water rushing over his head.

(He closes his eyes and he dreams. Fish swim around him, but he cannot catch them as they dart, too quick for his hand. He can grasp nothing and he is falling down. There are shadows everywhere but none are solid enough that he can see what they are.

Something grasps him, and he begins to rise.

There is a boy (a man?) in front of him. He's worried. Enokizu wants to tell the boy something, but all that comes out of his mouth is water. The boy bends down in front of him and gives him air.

He needs to tell him--)

When he opens his eyes, Enokizu is lying on the ground by the well. There is a faint tingle to his lips, and he presses his fingers to his lips.

There is an anxious boy looming over him. He's strong and dark, and all that Enokizu can think is 'I have to tell him. I have to say it so he knows. He needs to know.'

He tries to get up. The boy grabs his arm and helps him to his feet. Enokizu sways at first, but steadies himself. It's important that he tell him this.

Enokizu opens his mouth. The boy looks expectantly at him.

“You look like a gorilla.”

And the boy punches him in the face.

Later on, Kiba (Kibashu, he thinks) will come to apologize, reluctantly, and Enokizu will not even care. Because Enokizu looked at Kiba when he came up him sullenly kicking his shoes, and saw for the first time, someone who looked at him like he wasn't some sort of doll, precious and fine. What Enokizu never tells Kiba is that he always knew that Kiba liked him. He just didn't know if Kiba would ever figure it out.

 

 _Sometimes, what ties two people together is not a red string of fate, but a long receipt from a liquor store._

Kiba knocks on the door, a wrapped bottle tucked under his arm.

"Ah." Enokizu greets him lazily. "I hope you brought enough for us all."

"First, it's just the two of us and second, we're pretending I don't see the bottles next to you."

Enokizu smiles. "Well, they're enough for me, but I think you might need more that bottle."

"Stop being selfish." Kiba sits down next to him, clearing off a pile of clothing. "One of these days, you need to clean this mess up."

"Is this an official police order, boss?"

Kiba snorts. "Hardly. I'd hate for you to be under me."

Eno merely raises an eyebrow. "Do I need to make the obvious comment?"

"Just take this, you ingrate."

Four hours later, after an astoundingly improbable quantity of sake has been drunk, both men are relaxed. Kiba's propped up against the wall with Enokizu lying at an angle beside him

"So you said you have a client..." Kiba prompts and Enokizu lazily shrugs, laying his head down on Kiba's lap. Kiba rubs his fingers along Enokizu's silky hair, and the man closes his eyes.

Enokizu yawns. "Nothing you'd find exciting. Someone looking for a missing husband. "

"I'm sure you'll find something to keep you interested."

"Perhaps. I think I'll let Kazutora deal with it."

“If more private detectives were like you, the police wouldn't have to send anyone out to investigate crimes. I'd just tell them all, 'be like Eno', and they'd laze around until the case solved itself.”

“You're one to talk, Kibashu. You could be solving crimes right now, but instead, you're drinking with a layabout such as me. That such a respected detective can drink so much must be a shame to the police--”

At that, Kiba shut him up, quite effectively.

After a few minutes, when Kiba was breathing hard and Enokizu was developing a neck cramp and both of them realized that it wasn't the best angle for any prolonged kissing session, he pulled back and asked, “So how late are you staying?”

“I'll leave in the morning.”

“Just make sure Kazutora doesn't catch on. He's not a great detective like me, but even he can see things when they're put right in front of him.”

Kiba's response was to shove over another pile of clothes, and proceed where they had left off, albeit in a slightly more comfortable fashion. Things became excited rather quickly.

It was reported that at some point, the fan was broken, but neither seemed to care. 


End file.
